A New "Bottom-Up" Framework for Teaching Chemical BondingTami Levy Nahum, Rachel Mamlok-Naaman, Avi Hofstein, and Leeor KronikThis article presents a general framework for bonding that can be presented at different levels of sophistication depending on the student's level and needs. The pedagogical strategy for teaching this model is a "bottom-up" one, starting with basic principles and ending with specific properties.Levy Nahum, Tami; Mamlok-Naaman, Rachel; Hofstein, Avi; Kronik, Leeor. J. Chem. Educ.2008, 85, 1680.

On Capillary Rise and NucleationR. PrasadA comparison of capillary rise and nucleation shows that both phenomena result from a balance between two competing energy factors: a volume energy and a surface energy. This comparison may help to introduce nucleation with capillary rise, a topic familiar to students.Prasad, R. J. Chem. Educ.2008, 85, 1389.

Lattice EnergyWilliam F. ColemanPowerPoint presentation covering various aspects of the concept of lattice energy at the introductory and intermediate inorganic chemistry level. The presentation will open directly in the browser if your system has been so configured.

Crystals / Crystallography |

Ionic Bonding |

Solids |

Enrichment / Review Materials

Radius RatioWilliam F. ColemanThis is a set of animations that demonstrates properties of the spherical holes formed when uniform spheres are packed. Cubic, octahedral and tetrahedral packing arrangements may be examined without anything in the holes,and with the repective holes filled. The sizes of the various holes relative to the spheres being packed are shown, which can lead students into an exploration of the radius ratio concept. An example is given of computing the relative size of an octahedral hole.